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Thursday, March 21, 2013

MOURINHO CLAIMS FIFA AWARD FOR MANAGER WAS RIGGED

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho have categorically stated that he
didn't attend the FIFA awards ceremony last January because he claims the
voting procedure was rigged.

Mourinho was one of the three finalists for FIFA's annual coaching award but the prize went to Spain coach Vicente del Bosque.

In what looks like a confirmation of the self styled Special one's claim a number of leading players, including Macedonian captain Goran Pandev, have come out and backed the Real boss's claims and say their votes were changed to back Del Bosque rather than the Portuguese. Del Bosque led Spain to glory in Euro
2012 becoming the only manager in history to win the Champions League,
the European Championship and the World Cup.

He easily won the vote ahead of the also short-listed Pep Guardiola and Mourinho.

Mourinho, who had previously said he didn't go to the Zurich ceremony because he was busy, said in an interview on Portuguese TV: 'More than one person, two or
three people, phoned me to say they'd voted for me and that their vote
ended up going to someone else. So I decided not to go.'

The votes were cast by national team coaches and captains, plus invited journalists. And Macedonian striker Pandev has backed Mourinho's claims that votes were changed.

He said: 'I voted for Mourinho as best
coach of the year and I am convinced that strange things happened when
the votes were counted.

'According to the FIFA list I voted
for Vicente del Bosque, but I voted for Mourinho. I even called him and
said I’d vote for him. Unfortunately, odd things happen at FIFA.'

The football world governing body denied any voting irregularities and claim: 'The list of votes published on FIFA.com is accurate.'

And
Barcelona and Spain star Sergio Busquets said: 'It’s clear the award
went to Del Bosque and it’s great because he is the one who deserved it
the most.Nothing more.'